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The Miami Dolphins had their fair share of distractions in 2013. Most of the season centered around what was happening off the field instead of what they were doing on it. Offensive linemen Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin were involved in a bullying scandal that surely distracted the team to no end, made national headlines and redefined how we view the culture of NFL locker rooms. According to Martin, due to a slew of text messages and mean-spirited acts from Incognito, he had no choice but to leave the team on Oct. 28 to receive help for his emotional issues. A little over a week later Incognito was suspended for misconduct related to the mistreatment of a teammate and never returned. The national media ate the story up and regularly attended practices to get the latest scoop on the Dolphins dilemma. Despite all the distractions, Miami were in the thick of things late in the season. Thanks to a pair of three-game winning streaks, they had a chance at grabbing the AFCs second Wild Card spot with a victory in one of the last two games. They proceeded to be shut out in Buffalo by the Bills and then were trounced at home by the New York Jets in the final week. Miami finished with an 8-8 record and missed the postseason for the fifth consecutive campaign. But that was then and this is now. Both Incognito and Martin have gone their separate ways and the Dolphins, for the time being, are distraction-free going into 2014. Ironically, not only were members of the offensive line the biggest problem off the field for Miami last season, but they were equally destructive on it. The South Beach club led the league in sacks allowed with 58 and were tied for fifth in quarterback hits with 100. New General Manager Dennis Hickey made that a priority in the off-season and Miami could have up to four new starters when Week 1 rolls around. The biggest addition is Pro Bowl left tackle Branden Albert who they signed to a five-year, $47 million contract. The 29-year-old will be expected to defend Ryan Tannehills blind side. They also picked up promising guard Shelley Smith, right tackle Jason Fox and former Green Bay Packer Daryn Colledge. The 32-year-old Colledge has appeared in all 128 career games over his eight-year career and could prove to be instrumental in helping to defend the quarterback. Miami selected, to the surprise of some, offensive tackles JaWuan James in the first round (19th overall) out of Tennessee and Billy Turner out of North Dakota State in the third round of the 2014 Draft. The only returning starter is Pro Bowl centre Mike Pouncey, but hell be out for at least the first month of the season due to off-season hip surgery. Right guard Dallas Thomas - who appeared in six games in 2013 - is back in Miami colours this season and could be used in a more important role. Either way, the Fins o-line should be much better with these additions and it might even add a few Ws to the win column. All in all, like last year, the Miami Dolphins will probably be a fringe playoff team at best in 2014. However, with the Incognito fiasco in the rear-view mirror, Miami might be able to surprise some people. Notes Tannehills New Boss How good can Ryan Tannehill be? The 26-year-old Texan is entering his third-year in the NFL after a solid sophomore campaign where he threw for close to 4,000 yards and 24 touchdowns with 17 interceptions and an 81.7 QB rating. Things will be different for Tannehill this year though. For the first time since his second year at Texas A&M, Tannehill wont have Mike Sherman calling him the plays. The Dolphins fired Sherman, who also coached Tannehill in college from 2008-2011, after two seasons as offensive coordinator in January. After being ranked 27th in the league in total offence and a dismal end to the season where they scored seven points over two games, change was inevitably in the air. In comes 42-year-old Bill Lazor with a new playbook and a new mindset that will hopefully, for the Dolphins sake, make Tannehill and wide receiver Mike Wallace one of the most dangerous tandems in the NFL. The progression of that combo is a major storyline to follow for Miami in 2014. Second round pick Jarvis Landry, out of LSU, has impressed many at camp and could be a viable option for Tannehill as the season progresses. The Fins running game should see improvement as well with the addition of Knowshon Moreno. The Replacement The Dolphins werent great at preventing the run last year, allowing 124.9 yards per game on the ground. To make matters worse, they lost former Pro Bowl nose tackle Paul Soliai to the Atlanta Falcons after he spent the first seven years of his career in South Beach. Miami signed Earl Mitchell to a four-year contract in free agency and re-signed Pro Bowler Randy Starks to a two-year deal. Theyll both be trusted to fill the void up the middle left by Soliais departure. Strength of Schedule Miami has the 12th toughest schedule this year according to an opponents winning percentage of .508 from last season. Big tests include Week 1 and Week 15 against the New England Patriots, Week 6 against the Green Bay Packers, Week 12 against the Denver Broncos and Week 14 against the Baltimore Ravens. The Dolphins finish off the regular season with winnable home games against the Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets over the final two weeks. If the Dolphins are on the verge of clinching, it will be interesting to see if they learned their lesson from the collapse in 2013. Custom Baltimore Ravens Jerseys . Zdeno Chara scored with 13 seconds left in regulation after David Krejci tied it late, lifting the Bruins to a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday night in a game that saw Orpik taken from the ice on a stretcher. Lamar Jackson Jersey . -- Peyton Manning is the only player in this Super Bowl who has won the big game. http://www.officialbaltimoreravenspro.com/Ray-lewis-ravens-jersey/ .Former NBA forward Morris Peterson has been added to TSNs Toronto Raptors broadcast team. Jonathan Ogden Jersey . "It was awesome," he said. Coming off an ugly three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, Toronto found itself in a deep hole early after the Reds put an eight spot up on starter Liam Hendriks (six runs in 1 2/3 innings pitched) and Todd Redmond in the second. Baltimore Ravens Jerseys . The Canadian skicross racer appeared to have the bronze medal locked up in the mens final at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, only to wipe out while trying to make a pass in the biggest moment of his career. MONTREAL -- Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg still have the fastest car on the track, but the competition may not be quite so far behind at the Canadian Grand Prix. Practice day on Friday saw Fernando Alonso bring his Ferrari around Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with the fastest time in the morning practice, only to see the Hamilton and Rosberg dominate the afternoon session in their Mercedes AMGs. "The Ferraris looked quite close today and the rest of the field seemed closer in general, but hopefully not too close," said Hamilton. "Its very hard to overtake here, so pole position is important. "Nico looked very quick as well, so I have my work cut out for sure. Well find out everyones pace in qualifying (Saturday) afternoon, so lets wait and see what happens." Hamilton thrives on the tightly-cornered 4,361-kilometre circuit, and the superior power of this years Mercedes engine makes the Briton and his German-Finnish teammate Rosberg heavy favourites to stretch their winning run to start the Formula One season to seven races. Hamilton is a three-time winner in Montreal, and will be gunning for his fourth pole position in qualifying. Rosberg is looking for a second pole and a second win in a row after a victory at Monaco two weeks ago. "It felt pretty good out there, but weve still got improvements to make and there is more to come from the set-up and balance," said Hamilton. "Were not quite where we want to be yet." Hamilton posted a quickest lap of one minute 16.118 seconds, just ahead of Rosberg at 1:16.293. Defending champion Sebastian Vettels Red Bull car was third at 1:16.573 followed by the two Ferraris, Kimi Raikkonen in 1:16.573 and Alonso in 1:16.701. "Im still a tenth off the quickest time so Ill work hard with our engineers to find that extra pace," said Rosberg. "Its a unique track here, and its very difficult to hit the curbs just right." The Mercedes team has been all-but unbeatable since the switch to more fuel-efficient 1.6-litre turbo engines this season. They have won every race, with Hamilton taking four and Rosberg two, and have finished one-two in the last five. There has been more competition between the teammates than with the rest of the grid so far, but perhaps the tracks peculiarities, and its lurking dangers, will make a race of it on Sunday. The circuit features long straightaways leading into sharp turns. There are chicanes, including one near the home stretch that has sent many top drivers into the concrete barrier known as the Wall of Champions. "It is a short lap here, which closes up the field anyway, but it feels like Ferrari might be pushing us harder this weekend," said Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff. "We will need to get every detail right to deliver our potential in the race, so theres plenty of work still ahead of us.dddddddddddd" Alonso caused a mild surprise by beating the Mercedes in the morning practice session, but Rosberg topped the Spaniards time of 1:17.238 early in the afternoon runs. When the Mercedes drivers switched to supersoft tires 30 minutes into the afternoon, they were too quick for the field. The two-time world champion Spaniard, a winner in Canada in 2006, is a distant third in drivers standings behind the two Mercedes but it is still early in the 19-race season. He said this week his car is improving, even if the gap with Mercedes will be very difficult to close. "Its going to be tough," said Alonso. "There are updates coming to the car that weve been working on for some weeks. "All these hopes, we need to see it on the track. Its one of the shorter circuits, so we expect the times to be really close. So we need to find perfection. One or two tenths can be six or seven positions. We need to be in the front of those cars." The large crowd that turned out on a cool, overcast day got its first earful of the new F1 engines, which no longer have the high-pitched whine that was the sports signature sound for years. Instead, its a much quieter rumble. Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 F1 champion and a native of Iberville, Que., has no problem with the sound. "The problem with the engine isnt the volume," said Villeneuve. "Its good. "You can bring your kids and you know that you wont blow their eardums. Thats a good thing. You can have a phone conversation. The problem you can feel that theres no power. Theres no grunt. If you look at the turbos in the 1980s, the volume wasnt really louder, but you could tell the drivers were fighting with a wild animal. Thats not the case now." A dicey moment came 27 minutes in when Adrian Sutil had to take a short cut over a curb to avoid crashing into Kevin Magnussens slow-moving McLaren. Stewards investigated the incident and decided it did not warrant a penalty. However, Red Bulls Daniel Riccardo was given a reprimand for passing Pastor Maldonados Lotus in "a manner potentially dangerous to others" in pit lane. It was the Aussies first reprimand of the season. Jules Bianchi of Marussia hit a wall hard and sustained heavy damage in the morning practice but the French driver felt he would be will be OK afternoon. But after three laps his Ferrari-powered car stayed in the garage most of the afternoon. Caterham had 22-year-old American Alexander Rossi in Kamui Kobayashis car for the first practice, although the Japanese driver took over in the afternoon session. Rossi, a GP2 driver being groomed for F1, was last in the 22-car field at 1:21.757, just behind teammate Marcus Ericsson. 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